Browse Fitness by Stew Smith CSCS Articles

This week, a concerned Army Reservist asks, “I have heard about people dieing of drinking too much water. Is this possible?” This is a great question because so many times this issue is taken out of context causing people to stop drinking water altogether. When you read about people who die or get kidney damage “from drinking too much water” you ...

Stew Smith CSCS, former Navy SEAL Joins Forces with FireLink.com as fitness advisor / writer. I am pleased to start writing a fitness column for FireLink.com that will enable me to communicate with firefighters on a regular basis, but also, I hope to assist our Heroes of Tomorrow and today with maintaining their fitness level and career longevity. It is an ...

This week, getting better at pull-ups is the subject of many people’s concern. As with the Pushup-Push Workout (linked below), this idea makes little sense physiologically, but it works. You never want to have an extended period of repeating the same exercises day after day, but you can do this workout for ten days, rest for three or four days of ...

I received several e-mails last week about running faster. A few requested workouts for their 1.5 mile, 2 mile or three mile PFT runs and several were runners who compete 5K and 10K races on the weekends. Since all these distances use relatively the same training philosophy - short distance , faster pace - I decided to answer them all ...

On average, most people can gain five or more pounds a year. That is why in five short years, people step on a scale and cannot believe they are nearly FIFTY pounds overweight. Weight has a way of sneaking up on you over time. You do not get overweight overnight and you do not lose the weight overnight either. Both take ...

If you are like a majority of the people who exercise regularly, often the question of what do you do first - Cardio workouts (Running, swimming, biking, cardio machines at the gym) or Resistance training workouts (lift weights or PT) is discussed. This article will further discuss that question on several different levels. What combination is best for the following common ...

We all are susceptible to lower back injuries– military, law enforcement, advanced athlete, beginning exerciser, or sedentary person – we all get back injuries of some sort. The back injuries seen most in doctor’s offices and chiropractic clinics world wide involve the lower back / hip region and can occur from a variety of different causes. According to Dr. Steve Erle ...

After doing research and writing about physical fitness tests for public service agencies for the past ten years, I recognized a common appearance of the 1.5 mile run, pushups, and sit-ups test as a near universal basis for testing fitness levels. The groups who use the Common PFT are the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and more than 50% of federal, ...

Whether you are a military, special operations officer, an athlete, or just a regular person seeking to lose weight, all groups experience similar personal obstacles. Those who succeed in their training programs learn to conquer self-doubt. That is the key to fitness! Every day, excited people join fitness clubs determined to attend classes or workout for an hour a day, five ...

Last week, I received an email asking if interval training was a good way to improve speed in your military PFT run. The answer is absolutely. “But what exactly is interval training and how do I determine what speed I should train?” the question continued. There are some general formulas that can help you determine where you should be, but I ...

This week, I received an email from an Army Soldier who was having a difficult time running a few months ago. His breathing patterns were so erratic that he was basically hyperventilating while running his two mile PFT run. Once he started breathing properly as well as exhaling FULLY, he was able to perform better in the run – not only ...

Nearly on a daily basis, people young and old confide in me with their fitness goals. Too many of these goals are extremely broad and lack focus and many are too narrow in scope and require more elements to succeed. For example, broad goals are “getting healthy again” or “losing weight”. These can require some to stop over-eating, smoking, drinking soda ...